| DAY
1 DEPARTURE FROM NORTH AMERICA
Enjoy full meal service on your scheduled wide-bodied flight
to Budapest.
DAY
2 ARRIVE BUDAPEST (2 NIGHTS)
We will be met at the airport by our tour manager/guide and
transfer to Budapest, a modern cultural city, and the capital
of Hungary. Today we will take a Boat Tour
on the Danube River, a relaxing and scenic introduction to
Budapest. Highlights of the trip will include Elizabeth
Bridge, Chain Bridge, St. Anne’s Church, St. Elizabeth’s
Church, the Centenary Monument, Margaret Bridge
and the spectacular Houses of Parliament.
Time permitting, later today we will visit St. Stephens
Basilica, the largest church in the country, which
took over 50 years to build. The bust above the main entrance
is of King Stephen, Hungary's first Christian king. Inside
the church, in the Chapel of the Holy Right, you can see Hungarian
Catholicism's most cherished and bizarre holy relic, Stephen's
preserved right hand.
DAY
3 BUDAPEST
This morning we explore the hill town of Buda, which grew
up around its castle; today this area is known as the Castle
District. We begin with a Walking Tour through
the Old Town, exploring the cobbled streets and squares. Highlights
will include: the State Archives, Lord’s
Street, Mihaly Tancsics Street, and Holy Trinity Square.
We continue with a visit to Matthias Church,
officially named the Church of Our Lady, it is the symbol
of Buda's Castle District. The last two Hungarian kings (Habsburgs)
were crowned in the church: Franz Joseph in 1867 and Charles
IV in 1916. The church interior is decorated with works of
two outstanding 19th-century Hungarian painters, Károly
Lotz and Bertalan Székely. We continue our morning
to nearby Fisherman’s Bastion, where
we will view the Grand Equestrian Monument of
King Stephen. Our afternoon commences in Heroes’
Square, where we will view the Millennium Monument,
built in 1896 to commemorate the 1000-year anniversary of
Hungary’s history.
ˇ Your First Concert Performance
will be today
DAY 4
BUDAPEST - VIENNA (2 NIGHTS)
We leave Budapest this morning and transfer to the historic
capital city of Vienna. We will stop just outside the city
center for a visit to the 1,441-room Schönbrunn
Palace, which was designed for the Habsburgs before
becoming the imperial summer palace during Maria Theresa's
40-year reign. It was the scene of great ceremonial balls,
lavish banquets, and fabulous receptions held during the Congress
of Vienna, including a performance by a 6 year-old Mozart.
Our tour will include the State Apartments,
a stroll through the Imperial Gardens,
and a brief visit to the Wagenburg or Carriage
Museum, which contains a fine display of imperial coaches
from the 17th through the 20th century. Later this afternoon
we will take a Walking Tour through old Vienna,
which will include the Hoher Markt, where
we will see Virgin Mary’s Wedding Fountain
and an Art Nouveau clock, the Altes
Rathaus, the former town hall, the old
Chancellery of Bohemia, the Clock
Museum, and St. Peter’s Church.
DAY 5
VIENNA (IMPERIAL VIENNA)
Our morning begins with a visit to the former winter residence
of the Habsburgs, the vast and impressive Hofburg
Palace, which sits in the heart of Vienna. This complex
of imperial edifices grew with the empire, so that today the
palace is virtually a city within a city. Our visit will include
the Imperial Apartments and the
Imperial Treasury. Our day concludes with a
visit to St. Stephen’s Cathedral, one
of the greatest Gothic structures in Europe, rich in woodcarvings,
altars, sculptures, and paintings.
ˇ
Your Second Concert Performance will be today
DAY 6
VIENNA - PRAGUE (2 NIGHTS)
This morning we travel to Prague, the magnificent and historic
capital city of the Czech Republic. Our afternoon commences
in the Little Quarter, where we begin with
a visit to the Church of St. Nicholas, an 18th century Baroque
masterpiece featuring statues, frescoes and paintings by the
leading artists of the day. We will stroll across Charles
Bridge on our way to the winding alleys of Old Town.
Charles Bridge, Prague’s most familiar monument, is
a haven for crafts and trinket stalls and features spectacular
statues of the Saints lining each side.
DAY 7
PRAGUE
Our morning begins as we explore the huge hilltop complex
known collectively as Prague Castle; which
encompasses dozens of houses, towers, churches, courtyards,
and monuments. We begin with a visit to St. Vitus
Cathedral, the dominant and the most historically
important section of the castle complex. The massive Gothic
cathedral features 21 chapels, with St. Wenceslas Chapel being
the most important. During our walk through the complex, we
will stroll along the Golden Lane,
a picturesque street of tiny 16th-century houses built into
the castle fortifications, and view Powder Tower,
White Tower, Lobkowitz Palace, St. George’s Convent,
before visiting the Royal Palace,
where for more than 700 years, beginning in the 9th century,
Bohemian kings and princes resided. Our visit will include
the Vaulted Vladislav Hall, where
coronations were hosted and Václav Havel was inaugurated
president. The adjacent Diet was where kings and queens met
with their advisers and where the supreme court was held.
From a window in the Ludwig Wing, where the Bohemia Chancellery
met, the Second Defenestration took place.
ˇ Your Third Concert Performance
will be today
DAY 10
DEPARTURE FROM PRAGUE
Your enjoyable and rewarding
tour will come to an end as your tour manager/guide accompanies
you to the airport for the return flight home.
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